http://www.bpp401k.com The Newsletter is an excellent resource for the latest news from the retirement planning industry. The Newsletter brings together a wide variety of news sources to give you up to date information on trends, news, events, and legislation. en-gb http://www.spectrem.com/trendsandinsights/February2008/4.html Separate surveys of plan sponsors and participants reveal a disconnect between plan sponsors and participants, regarding whether some form of income option should be included in retirement plans. https://institutional.vanguard.com/iip/pdf/LifecycleDynamics.pdf Comparing retirement plan portfolios before and after adoption of target maturity funds, the authors of this paper observed that these funds meaningfully change the age structure of equity exposure, eliminate zero- or all-equity portfolios, and reduce the share of idiosyncratic portfolio risk. http://www.planadviser.com/research/article.php/1883 Working Americans' confidence in their ability to retire comfortably declined significantly in the past year, according to the Ninth Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey. http://www.pensionresearchcouncil.org/publications/document.php?file=407 The key factor contributing to plan efficiency and performance is the particular set of funds offered, rather than the total number of investment options provided. In 401k arena, more is not necessarily better. http://ebn.benefitnews.com/asset/article/548011/staying-current/talk-smarter-not-louder-get-employees.html?pg=&topicName=retirement Employers and service providers agree that a strong emphasis on retirement education and planning needs to stay a top priority in 2008. But the message isn't about restating the same scary facts to employees over and over again. http://www.thompson.com/images/thompson/reports/hr022008_pensionprotectionact.pdf This five-section special report provides insights from benefit experts on retirement plan administration in the post-PPA world as well as a look at how the PPA affects critical aspects of plan administration as the dust continues to settle. http://www.ebri.org/pdf/publications/facts/fastfacts/fastfact02262008.pdf How do race and ethnicity affect the likelihood of participating in a retirement plan? How do the size of employers and the birthplace of workers affect these levels? http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/REG/909612592/1030/MUTUALFUNDS Managed accounts aren't popular default options in 401k plans, because fees are too high for plan executives to justify, leaving them concerned about fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility, experts say. http://www.drinkerbiddle.com/files/Publication/6d5a9480-b662-45e5-9fbc-04ef3c213ba6/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/235a2047-e0c8-4f00-bc48-075698c9bad8/SupremeCourtAllowsIndividuals.pdf In a decision with significant implications for plan fiduciaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that individual participants in a defined contribution plan can sue for a breach of fiduciary duty that results in a loss to the participant's own account, even if not all participants' accounts have similar losses. http://www.dechert.com/library/Labor_EB_Supreme_Court_Decision_Authorizing_Suites_02-08.pdf Should courts begin to scrutinize more closely the propriety of plaintiffs' self-serving characterizations of the nature of their claims, employers and plan fiduciaries will undoubtedly benefit. Certainly, employers and plan fiduciaries should look to employ Roberts' reasoning to constrain plaintiffs' attempts to transform simple benefits disputes into broad breach of fiduciary duty claims. http://www.littler.com/presspublications/index.cfm?event=pubItem&pubItemID=18264&childViewID=394&type=all&section=Press%20&%20Publications&subject=ASAPs&title=Supreme%20Court%20Addresses%20the%20Remedies%20Available%20for%20Fiduciary%20Breach%20Under%20ERISA In an important legal development in the area of retirement plan fiduciary liability, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that individual participants may sue ERISA fiduciaries for account losses. http://www.groom.com/LaRue.html The Supreme Court ruled that an individual participant in a 401k defined contribution plan can maintain a breach of fiduciary duty claim under ERISA, even though the alleged breach affected only the value of his own individual account.